NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 11: The Ranking Begins
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After a period of 20 minutes, Nicolas' mana reserves had recovered fully. He was completely ready to tear the boss apart to shreds, but would he be able to?
Standing up, Nicolas kicked aside the huge boulder that was the barrier to the boss room and went inside. This cave was a huge one, its ceiling filled with hanging stalactites and stalagmites, which were dripping some sort of noisome fluid. He couldn't see a boss, though.
"Another sneak attack? What sort of dogshit dungeon is this!" Nicolas cursed and was about to activate the Glimpse of Future but stopped right in his tracks when he noticed a silhouette in the shadows. Surprisingly, the silhouette felt weirdly human.
"Be prepared for a taste of your own medicine," he said playfully as a Glacial Lance whizzed straight toward the shadowy figure. He could swear he heard a gasp of panic as the icy blade was about to strike.
Out of the blue, hundreds of tiny snakes launched themselves at the charging piece of ice. Their mouths opened simultaneously, and a prodigious amount of toxic mist sprayed out, instantly melting the blade like ice.
The figure stepped out of the shadows, her angel-like face carrying an expression of rage and disgust. She was wearing a blue robe woven from an amalgam of thin vines, designed to highlight her voluptuous figure, each curve accentuated in the right manner. Innumerable snakes cascaded down her head, their vibrant colors giving her a flamboyant hairstyle.
The snakes that had stopped his attack were now free to attack him, their tiny swift bodies approaching at an unbelievable speed. As they got closer and opened their mouths to spray the immensely toxic substance, their svelte bodies were caught by blazing flames, which made them twist and turn on the ground, attempting to use the earth below to put out the fire.
But the snakes lacked vitality and soon became motionless, their deaths making the woman incensed. Nicolas also noticed a trace of some deeper emotion—sadness, as if the snakes killed were her own. They probably were.
"This isn't the time to feel guilty, Nicolas," he chided himself and leapt up, his saber in hand, its trajectory going straight toward the humanoid creature, who now had her eyes closed, her lips moving delicately.
Nicolas' saber struck toward her face, but his entire body was blasted off by the slash of the now animated vines, which had coalesced together and become ridiculously thick. As he fell on his back, a new muster of snakes was making its way toward him, planning to end this pest's life once and for all.
His palms extended outward, and his lips started uttering a chant. A magic circle formed, and a flame orb shot forward. Another one followed closely, and soon, one after another, he had cast six flame orbs. The orbs made their way one by one, burning the snakes to a crisp. The woman, however, still had not attacked.
"She is physically weak, I think. Otherwise, seeing how much she cares for them, she should have attacked me by now," Nicolas conjectured while observing her morose face. "Let's end this," he thought as he started chanting the Duststorm spell.
Meanwhile, the pulchritudinous figure stood still, her hands stretched outward, imitating the gesticulation of someone praying. A sudden shake spread throughout the ground. The walls of the cave started shattering; gradually, he could see multiple groups of shadows rushing in through the openings.
He had forfeited his chant, which resulted in some slight backlash, though he stabilized it soon. The shadows had gotten closer, and he could see them clearly now—they were serpents of various shapes and sizes, their collective movement so intense that dust rose everywhere.
"I need to act quickly." Nicolas immediately chanted the hurricane spell. The tumultuous waves of water started to transform into a rapidly rotating vortex, maneuvering through the crowds of serpents. The cruel currents slashed every part of their bodies, blood flowing out like a fountain. The vortex started to turn scarlet as the beasts' blood assimilated with the water.
Another vortex—just as frivolous—manifested and moved deftly through the throngs of serpentine beasts. The woman watched with anger and rue, her face contorting.
She launched wave after wave of snakes, but all of them were consumed by the unforgiving water tides. She had become very desperate and dejected as she grasped at every straw in her arsenal but in vain. No matter what move she pulled off, this detestable being in front would dispose of it with ease.
As the woman was consumed in her tirade, Nicolas approached her at a fast pace. The lady noticed, and her vines started to activate to shield her from the upcoming attacks.
"Not gonna work a second time," he mocked her with confidence in his tone.
As the vines struck toward Nicolas, he immediately cast flamethrower, which made the vines catch fire and turn to ashes. This made her already revealing clothes even more exciting. Nicolas paid this no heed, however.
The lady could only resort to running, her speed quite fast for a human, but to Nicolas, it looked like she was crawling. His eyes turned solemn, and he started chanting. A magnificent water arc swept forward, decapitating the human-serpent creature.
"Let's hope I get a good drop," Nicolas prayed to every popular god he had heard of.
As her head fell to the ground, a glow covered the surroundings, and her body slowly started disintegrating.
On the ground lay two things: a mid-grade life crystal and a cyan ring.
"A ring?" Nicolas thought as he picked it up. "Let's see if it's any good."
[Enchanted Storage Ring (tier-1 competent rank)]
"Storage? Everyone already has the storage cube. So useless!" Nicolas said with dejection as he expanded its information.
[A ring that has a storage space of 8 cubic meters and can be used to store both articles and living creatures.]
[Mana Points +2]
[Warning: Inject your mana to secure the ring from being looted by others.]
"Forgive me, lords, for doubting your powers. This ring is amazing. I can even store humans in it, much less beasts." He thanked the gods he had prayed to frantically, afraid his previous words would invoke their ire.
Nicolas quickly injected his mana into the ring, marking him as the owner.
"Now let's absorb this crystal." He had researched beforehand and knew that mid-grade crystals gave 50 exp, ten times their low-grade counterparts. He swiftly absorbed their Auralis mana.
[Successful absorption of mid-grade life crystal]
[50 exp granted]
[Current progress: 300/1000]
"Mid-grade dungeons are so much more useful," he thought, satisfied with his progress. He had raided multiple dungeons in a day to expedite his progress, after all.
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One day later, each city's new awakeners were all animated today—some with excitement, some with anxiety. Today, the Ranking Phenomenon was to be held. It wasn't a phenomenon per se but an assessment organized by the coalition of governments and rulers. Each major city had a center where the first and second stages of the assessment would be held: the preliminary round and the objective metrics test, respectively.
It was estimated that over a million awakeners would participate worldwide, but only the top 100,000 would actually be given a rank. The rest were to be eliminated in the preliminary round.
The first and second rounds would be broadcast. How could the governments miss out on this opportunity?
In a particular apartment of Lumen Metropolis
Two friends were talking while eating. "You sure are something. To think you've garnered 300 exp in two months after awakening! I bet few in the entire world could beat that," Draven said, surprised once again by Nicolas' ability.
"Researcher Draven is no slacker either! You were just bestowed the Prime Research Trainee Award by the — Academy, weren't you?" Nicolas countered with mischief.
As their banter continued, the time to leave for the teleportation point arrived.
"Let me come with you to the teleportation point. Today is a big day for you, after all," came Draven's baritone voice.
The two friends walked together, engaging in their usual friendly conversation. They soon reached the teleportation point. Nicolas noticed some familiar faces—his fellow classmates. They greeted him as any polite individual would.
As he was about to teleport, the boisterous voice of Draven shouted at him, "Good luck! I know my bro will slay."
Nicolas' face twitched as he looked around to see if anyone had heard him. As his figure faded, he thought, "What sort of extrovert am I friends with?"